Friday Night Dinner Ideas
Friday night dinners that feel like a treat — homemade pizza, smash burgers, steak frites, loaded nachos, and crispy fried chicken worth the wait.
★ Fun Weeknight
Fun WeeknightClassic Smash Burgers
Classic Smash Burgers
Brittany KhamilleIngredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- cajun seasoning
- onion powder
- mustard powder
- white pepper
- black pepper
- about 1 cup thinly sliced yellow onion
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil
- cheese
- tomato
- lettuce
- 1 cup mayo
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- cajun seasoning
- hot sauce -to taste
- 1/8 cup freshly chopped parsley
- 1/8 cup freshly chopped dill
- 3 tablespoons freshly chopped chives
Instructions
- 1In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the ranch. Season to taste and place into the fridge while you make the burgers
- 2In another bowl, combine the ground beef with your seasonings of choice. Roll into 4oz balls and set aside.
- 3On a cast iron skillet or griddle, heat the oil until sizzling hot. Place down a few of the sliced onions & one burgers patty. Smash down.
- 4Cook for about 2 minutes on medium high heat. When it’s browned, flip and add a slice of cheese. Let sear another 2 minutes. Remove and repeat with all the patties.
- 5dress the burgers with whatever makes ya little heart happy (:
P.S. We update the recipes on this page every few days. If you want to cook this recipe over and over again, we'd love it if you downloaded Pepper 🤝.
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Friday night dinner is the reward at the end of a long week — a little more butter, a little more cheese, a little more time at the stove because you're not rushing to soccer practice.
Cooks on Pepper share these recipes because every dinner delivers the takeout-level payoff without the delivery fee: crispy edges, gooey centers, and food worth pouring a drink over.
Every recipe here is built for a leisurely Friday — 45 minutes to an hour of active cooking, a full-flavor payoff, and leftovers that eat well cold on Saturday.
Quick Tips
- 1
Preheat cast iron for 10 minutes
A screaming hot pan is what gets a steakhouse crust on smash burgers and ribeye.
- 2
Pizza stone or steel
Even a $25 pizza steel turns home ovens into 700°F pizza machines.
- 3
Brine chicken 2 hours minimum
Salt brine keeps fried chicken juicy through the fry — non-negotiable.
- 4
Let steaks rest 8 minutes
Cut too early and the juice runs out — plate them on warm plates and wait.
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